Lucy Barbour

Lucy is ABC Rural's political reporter at Parliament House, in Canberra. She grew up in rural northern Tasmania but took a few years travelling through Asian jungles and working on Spanish avocado farms before getting into radio. Lucy began her journalism career in television production for Andrew Denton on Enough Rope and has worked for newspapers and magazines in Australia and Malaysia. She started as a rural trainee in Hobart, before reporting in Shepparton, Horsham, Mildura and at 666 in Canberra.

The Federal Government delays its promise to create a foreign-owned farmland register by Christmas. The Nationals, and some regional Liberals, claim without the register, Australia's food security and sovereignty could be jeopardised.

President of the National Farmers' Federation, Brent Finlay tells Lucy Barbour why the lobby group wants 15-year terms for drought concessional loans, with an interest rate as low as 2.5 per cent. The NFF has launched its own list of drought relief measures. They include less paperwork for farmers applying for the Farm Household Allowance, no funding cuts to the Rural Financial Counselling Service and more money for managing pests. The launch came as the Federal Agriculture Minister announced it would reallocate $100million for drought loans in NSW and Queensland. Those loans will be available over a 10-year period, at an interest rate of 3.2 per cent. Read more.

Lucy Barbour reports on West Australian Liberal Senator Chris Back's Bill to clamp down on people who withhold footage of animal cruelty. The Bill, which is likely to be debated in the Federal Parliament early next year, would mandate that anyone with footage of malicious animal cruelty must hand it to authorities within five days. There would also be criminal penalties for anyone found trespassing on farms or causing damage to property, people, business or animals. The Greens animal welfare spokeswoman, Lee Rhiannon argues the Bill is an attempt to gag animal activists. Read more.

A Senate Inquiry has revealed the Department of Agriculture and some industry bodies don't keep a consistent record of who is paying the millions of dollars generated every year via research and marketing levies

New South Wales Liberal Democrat Senator David Leyonhjelm will move a disallowance motion to try to change parts of the new mandatory code for port access, which governs competition rules around grain handling at ports.